


Interschool Kickboxing Competition

by orphan_account



Series: Falling in love was always an option [2]
Category: Thor (2011), X-Men: First Class (2011) - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, M/M, X-Men Crossover
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-02-11
Updated: 2012-03-02
Packaged: 2017-10-30 22:55:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 6,195
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/337104
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Charles become friends with a boy from another school, and Erik is not pleased about it</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

“Hey, have you heard? The annual interschool kickboxing match is going to be held in our school!”

“I’m getting all pumped up… for the guys! I could drool all day staring at them!”

“Don’t get your panties in a twist, folks.” Charles came interrupting between the conversation of his classmates, poking in their topic of discussion. Before they could come up with any kind of retort or disagreement, the short male skipped his way out of them, walking aimlessly around the school.

It didn't take Charles a long time to spot somebody who looked incredibly lost to him. He had never seen this person before.

 _Perhaps he was one of the contestants of the match?_   Charles' eyes lit up at the possible aspect of a new friend, and his hands were extended to the bulky male when they got close enough to each other to initiate eye contact.

“Hi, I’m Charles Xavier, nice to meet you!” Charles flashed a smile, a contrast to the male’s confused look. But the confused expression was stashed away as his strong palm met Charles’ outstretched hand.

“Well aren't you a friendly one. The name's Logan.”

“You’re here for the kickboxing match, are you?”

“Well, if my school’s tee isn’t obvious enough, yes I am.” Logan said, gesturing to his school tee. Charles looked incredibly embarrassed for not noticing it sooner.

“Nah, don’t feel bad about it,” Logan said, patting Charles on the back, before resting an arm on Charles’ shoulder, leading the sightly blushing male with him. “Come on, I only got a few days in this wonderful school, and I’d definitely need a guide around.”

Charles walked Logan around the whole school, introducing the school to him as well as to anybody that he knew, which was almost everybody. Being part of student council had its perks.

Most of the girls had their eyes glued to the fresh sight of Charles with somebody else instead of Erik for a change, and was immediately attracted by Logan and his aura that gives off a wild vibe.

Word started going around quick that Charles is spending time with Logan, and it reached Erik’s ears without effort. Some of them even dubbed the pair as “Beauty and the Beast”.

Erik contacted one of his best friend, Thor, for a round of drink to talk about this. Loki tagged along and Erik doesn’t mind it at all.

“Thor. I have a problem.” Erik said when his muscular friend sat opposite him, his skinny friend taking a seat beside the blonde.

“What, finally planning to confess, now that your pet has got another _wild_ friend?” Thor asked, and roared into laughter as Erik turned pink around the cheeks. Loki looked at them in amusement.

“Stop it, Thor. You’re not helping,” Erik grunted, taking a huge gulp of his drink.

“How’s this? Um… They say that Logan has a liking to anything, or in this case, anybody beautiful, and will strive to get the prize no matter what.” Thor said, and as he watched the colors fade from Erik’s face, he added. “That’s the reason he’d agreed to join this year’s competition. One of the sponsors are giving out these really neat fighting gloves along with the prize money this year, and bam! The man who won’t give a rat’s arse about competition shows up.”

“Say something nice, would you?” Erik retorted, and just as he was about to stand up and leave, Loki suggested one thing that finally made Erik acknowledge the functionality of his brain.

“Why don't you join the competition as well? I heard that they’re still accepting names.”

"I mean, if you wanted a proper, legal way to kick his ass."


	2. Chapter 2

“We have enough participants, Erik.” The teacher in-charge said, looking at Erik from his seat.

“And we both know that you’re lying,” Erik said, staring at the teacher “My source is reliable.”

The teacher sighed and stood up from his chair.

“What makes you volunteering for this competition, Erik?” The teacher asked. “Some of our good students called it off when they heard Logan is participating.”

“That’s the reason I’m joining,” Erik growled, a spark of fire setting off by the mentioning of Logan’s name. “Look, I can fight. Maybe not officially and definitely not by the rules, but I can learn the rules. Please consider me.”

“You’re really desperate for a fight, huh?” The teacher was impressed at Erik’s show of enthusiasm. He grabbed his pen and filled Erik’s name under his list of participants. “I’ll put you as Alex Summers’s substitute. Poor guy got injured badly at his third round and we need a substitute for him.” Thrusting a paper to Erik, he added. “Get this form filled, and we’ll get down to business after school. Alex’s fourth round comes in tomorrow, and you should know the basics at the very least.”

“Thanks,” Eric said, and strode out from the office, planning a hundred ways to take down Logan when they face each other.

A thank-you visit to Summers would be nice, too.

* * *

Charles was worried about his best friend’s disappearance. It was normal for Erik to skip class, but it had been long ago since he last skipped any classes. This made Charles wonder what Erik was up to. Whenever there's something interrupting Erik's daily schedule, it could only mean that he got something planned out. Charles decided to ask him about it face to face, since Erik isn't a big fan of technology, and rarely checks his phone.

Charles didn’t spot Erik even after school had ended. He was going to go straight back home, but he had yet to spend any time with Erik for the day. Therefore Charles asked Raven to go home without him, along with one of Charles’ trusted friends, Moira.

After seeing Moira and his sister away from school, Charles started to search for Erik. He had tried walking around the school, but eventually decided that searching aimlessly won’t bear any results. He could only ask one person about Erik’s whereabouts.

“Erik? The last time we talked, it’s about you,” Thor said, watching Charles’s face turned several shades redder. “Been hanging out with the kickboxing champion lately, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean anything! Logan needs a guide to show him the way…” Charles began to protest, but was cut short by the muscular blonde.

“He was here before, Charles,” Thor announced. Loki, who had been watching quietly just nodded, fixing his gaze on Charles’s dawning face. “He was already here during me and Loki's first year. He is now a second year like us, and last year was the first time he made himself known.”

“How could you know so much about him?” Charles asked.

“That's because I came in second place,” Thor said, grinning as he mused a little about the past. “Got beaten up like an old rag, and I would’ve challenged him to a fight outside the ring if I was not under strict orders by my friend here.” Thor said, crushing Loki’s back bones with his strong slap, laughing as the slender male staggered for his balance.

“I was just trying to keep you in line, Thor,” Loki said, straightening himself before continuing. “Besides, this year, Erik will fight in your place, won’t he?”


	3. Chapter 3

Charles was furious at the fact that Erik had joined the kickboxing match. Charles disliked fights, and Erik had been the one who saved him from getting beaten up by a group of bullies. Since then, Charles was hot on Erik’s trail, convincing him to be his friend. Sure enough, Erik got tired of the consistent stalking (Charles called it a friendly observe), and the both of them compromised to each other. Erik would do fewer fights, and Charles would be less creepy around Erik.

But things changed over the years. Now that they’re in their final year of school, Charles and Erik had become almost inseparable. Charles would change from the charming angel into a babbling piñata who talks about genesis and mutants and Marvel comic heroes whenever he’s around Erik. But Erik doesn’t mind. He liked the real Charles, and fights bore him out nowadays. He’d prefer world domination, and maybe he could rule the world with Charles and his imaginary mutants (If he’d found any!).

What made Erik change his mind from taking over the world back to puny fights?

Charles rolled the question over and over his head. Surely it was not because Logan had beaten up Thor in the past? That sounded impossible. Erik was not that kind of person. Just as he was mindlessly kicking away tiny stones in his way, a familiar voice came in front of him, and he stopped his thought chain, looking up in front of him.

“You’re going to knock that pretty face of yours on something nasty if you don’t pay attention on where you’re going, Charles,” It was Logan. Charles shot him a weak smile, and remembering that this boy in front of him had taken down somebody the size of Thor a few years ago, the idea of Erik going against him made Charles’s heart wince. He had to find Erik. He had to hear it from Erik that he was not planning to join the kickboxing match, and that Loki was wrong by assuming it.

All those thoughts made Charles started running at the opposite direction of Logan, determined to find Erik as soon as possible. The search for Erik had been fruitless the day before, when he had got news from Loki that Erik is considering the kickboxing team. He doesn’t want the second day to be in vain, too. The teachers don’t seem to mind Erik’s absence. That made Charles mad, but he couldn’t do anything against it.

“Charles, wait!” He heard Logan called his name behind him, but he was really not in the mood to talk to Erik’s potential contender in the ring. He willed his legs to run faster, but Logan’s voice reached Charles before he could run further away from the truth.

“Erik was in your school’s kickboxing team!”

Charles froze, his legs stopping in their tracks.

“He is a substitute to Alex Summers, do you know that?!” Logan shouted again, and Charles took the last ounce of his strength to shake his head. Logan walked closer to Charles, and said to him in his normal voice.

“I’m looking forward to the fight between me and Lehnsherr.”

“Don’t you dare!” Charles shouted in a voice he himself did not know existed, and turned around to land a hard punch on Logan’s right cheek. The past champion backed away a few steps, rubbing his bruising cheek as he howled, “What the hell?!” to Charles. That seemed to snap the shorter male out from his trance. He blinked, returning his fist back to himself, and realized that he had punched a kickboxing champion in the face!

Observing the color come and go from Charles’s face, Logan’s welling rage was diminished mysteriously. Charles did not punch him on purpose. He faintly remembered that Charles had mentioned Erik as his best friend a few times in their conversation, and that was the reason he had to ask Charles about Erik when he found out that Erik was serving as Alex’s substitute. But he never knew that the price of asking was a punch to the face. If he had known, he will not ask.

“I’m sorry, Logan! I’m really, really sorry! I… I don’t know what was coming into me lately. First, Erik had disappeared without telling me anything for almost two days, and now you said that he had joined the kickboxing match, and… Oh God. I’m really sorry, Logan, I really am!” Charles blubbered out his randomly assembled apologies, and Logan find it hard to not forgive Charles.

After all, who would say no to this adorable boy?

“Come on, Charles,” Logan said, looking at the guilt-filled boy. “Could you accompany me to fix my bruised face?”

And Charles followed Logan to the infirmary, temporarily ignoring Erik’s disappearance for the moment.


	4. Chapter 4

“Erik, is this really necessary?” Thor grunted as he watched Erik move around in his own room with only his pants on. Loki was sitting by Thor’s table, listening to Thor and Erik’s conversation as he scribbled away on his algebra.

“Of course it is,” Erik mumbled, scrubbing his hair with his towel, and water droplets sprinkled out from his hair, hitting Thor in the process. “I cannot afford to let Charles find me in my house, so I’ll have to crash at your place. It’s just a few days, stop whining.”

“Am not.” Thor said, and took a glance at Loki’s back. “But what about…?”

“Your parents are abroad for God knows how long, Thor. Loki could just sleep in here with you. I’ll survive in the living room.” Erik said, and he could see Loki’s back tensed.

“We’re not…” Loki began, turning around in his seat to face Erik, but Thor stopped him before he could say anything more.

“Hiding from Charles is not the way, Erik,” Thor said, as Erik looked around in Thor’s room for his bag. “He’ll know soon enough that you’re fighting again.”

Erik went still, his eyes looking down at the floor, staring darkly at one of Thor’s misplaced socks. He thought that he saw several inappropriate reading materials beneath the bed, but that thought was quickly dispersed.

“Stop being jealous of Logan, Lehnsherr,” Loki said, turning back to the table, back to his complicated maths. “Charles is not the person to throw away precious old toys.”

“Not a toy,” grunted Erik as he gave up on searching for his bag, and exited the room with a hard slam on Thor’s room door. Thor gave Loki an exasperated look.

“What? I’m just telling the truth. You know you were thinking the same.”

“Use gentler words next time. You know how easily offended Erik is.” Thor stood up, and proceeded to ruffle at Loki’s hair, purposely messing it up just to irritate him. “But thanks for reminding him of that fact.”

“Most welcomed,” answered Loki in a small whisper, cheeks flushing as Thor went out of the room as well, proceeding to confront the angry shark in the living room.

** xXx **

Erik’s training had been intense. The school coach had taught Erik of the basic moves and simple rules before he had stepped up as Alex’s substitute, and Erik won the match without sweat. As a fast learner, Erik needed only hours to properly learn new moves, which was an advantage for him. But he couldn’t risk Charles seeing him train in school. So he had specifically asked for the coach to train him at a gym outside school, and he would return to Thor’s house – which was near the gym – and spend the rest of the few resting hours there.

Thor was happy to see his friend turn up at his door the first day, but when he learned of his true motive to stay in his house for a few days just to avoid Charles, he was not pleased by that idea.

“At least let Charles know where you are, Erik,” Thor said, gulping down jugs of beer. “I hated seeing him sulk around with bags below his eyes. It’s like the mirror image of an abused puppy!” Thor grunted as Erik turned around to look at him. “And you know how much I cannot resist helpless beings.”

“Wait, what? Bags around his eyes? He’s not sleeping well?” Erik asked, the drunken feeling in him which had started to stack up disappeared within an instant. Thor nodded.

“Late for school, slept in classes, knocked into pillars, missed lunch,” Thor counted. “All for the sake of a certain Erik Lehnsherr.”

“But I was absent for just one day, Thor. All of that happened today during school?” Erik asked, trying to hide the concern in his voice. The blond nodded.

“You don’t know what a day without you meant to Charles,” Thor muttered, and they fell into a long silence. Erik was tempted to make himself drunk, forget about Charles and concentrating on beating the bastard Logan up, but he found himself worrying about his best friend not getting enough sleep and rest and energy. And knocking into pillars?! Is Charles even alright now?

“Fuck this,” Erik cursed, and made a big, final gulp at his beer, before staggering towards the silent night, having only one person to search if he was going to settle things once and for all.


	5. Chapter 5

Logan was quite surprised by Erik’s appearance, considering that Erik had managed to find him in his favorite fight club which was owned by his father.

“Hello there, cookie,” Logan greeted, looking at him from his own personal throne, surrounded by muscular fighters and sexy ladies ranging from blonde to neon.

“Didn’t take me too long to find you,” said Erik, glaring at the person right opposite him. “People around here are quite resourceful when your name is mentioned.”

“Hmm? I’ll have to tell them to not give my information around that easily, then,” Logan said, smirking as he continued. “So what brings you here, Lehnsherr?”

“I want to challenge you to a fight,” Erik said, noticing that his breath smelled of alcohol. But screw that, he was here for a fight, not to make friends.

“Hmm? Why the sudden rush?” Logan asked, rubbing at the spot around his eye where Charles had hit him earlier. Speaking of Charles… He was probably the reason Erik was here. Logan will not get it wrong. But he would like to listen to the reason by himself. “You could face me in the kickboxing finals with the progress you’re making now, you know?”

“I don’t want to wait that long,” Erik said, and fixed his eyes on Logan, like a predator staring at its prey. He was mad at Charles for being friends with this wretched piece of fighter, but he had knew Charles well. If Logan had not approached Charles, he would not have met Logan, and they will not be friends. After all, it was just a match for a few days. Chances that they will meet are small.

Thinking about this made Erik flare with anger. He will not admit that he was jealous of Charles having a new friend. He never was. He was just angry that Logan may have a thing for Charles, considering that the famed fighter’s sexual orientation was never revealed – a few girlfriends here and there, but never settled down for one. And with the rumors going on that he had a thing for beautiful things – and probably human beings as well - , Erik cannot help but get competitive. If Charles was going to be anybody’s, it’s going to be his. Property of Erik Lehnsherr.

“If you’re here because of Charles, then I will consider your challenge,” Logan said, and Erik’s attention was captured by him. His blueish green eyes looked into the brown and intimidating ones of Logan’s, and he tossed a winning smirk before he continued. “The winner gets him.”

_ Don’t do this, Erik. _ A side of the slender male’s thoughts told him. _You promised Charles that you’re not going to fight recklessly anymore._

_ Well, screw that thought royally, _ another side of Erik said. _You don’t know if Charles was into men, that’s for sure, but_ _if he was, you’re going to see him snuggling up onto another man, holding his hand, calling him pretty names while you were going to die, forever alone style. Is this the ending you want?_

Receiving no further taunt or any expression from Erik, Logan added something to incite Erik’s will to fight. After all, he was eager to see how much potential Erik had got.

“If Charles was over here by my side, just imagine the things I would do to him,” Logan said in a purring voice as he ran his hands over the back of one of the sexy ladies standing just beside his throne. He circled the woman – who coincidentally happened to be a brunette – by her waist, pulling her down to his lap, and the woman sat comfortably on his thighs, playfully toying at the collar of his shirt. Pressing the woman closer to him, he licked at the side of her neck, leaving a trail of saliva while Logan looked at Erik, baiting him with his move. The woman giggled and pulled away, and Erik caught sight of the woman’s features.

Plump, cherry-red lips. Wavy brown hair.

And those pair of sea blue eyes.

“You’re going down,” said Erik through gritted teeth.

“Nice! That’s the spirit!” With a wave of his hand, a fighting platform was prepared for the both of them, spotlights shining on them and all. A referee leaped onto the stage, waiting for the both of them to step up onto the ring. “Okay, thank you, Clare.” Logan addressed the woman in his lap, who stood up and returned to her sisters’ side. “Now observe as I have a wonderful fight with this fine young man here.”

Logan gestured for Erik to the stage, and the taller man did so. Upon stepping into the ring, he got blinded by the amount of revolving white lights focusing on the stage. He winced at the light, and Logan immediately ordered for the lights to dim a little. “Wouldn’t want to have any disadvantage, aren’t we, Erik?”

Erik caught the pair of boxing gear thrown by Logan in a perfect arc and put it on. It fitted his hand well, the fabric cushioning against his hands like nothing Erik had ever felt. “We’re using the same gloves to be fair,” said Logan, putting on the same gloves with Erik’s as well, boasting a jet black shade in contrast to Erik’s lava red ones.

“Now, the rules are simple,” the referee said in a loud voice for everyone in the club to hear about it. “Within 5 minutes, the one standing will be declared the winner. Or else it all depends on the crowd votes.”

“Crowd votes. Isn’t that in your advantage?” Erik muttered, loud enough for Logan to hear it. He shook his head.

“If you fought well, my men will disappoint me.” Logan said as the referee shifted them to their respective ends of the ring. “Don’t disappoint me, Erik. Fight as if you’re doing this for Charles’s sake.”

“I am.”

“The match starts… now!”


	6. Chapter 6

It all went down to adrenaline rushes, heavy punches, and occasional dirty tricks.

“Come on, Logan!” One of the men hooted when Logan received his first blow in the face. Erik had made use of his speed to reach Logan before he could reach him. Holding his ground, Logan lashed out with his leg, which Erik swiftly evaded with a twist of his body. Not wanting to let the move go to waste, Logan quickly thrust his leg down to where Erik’s legs had planted, smashing hardly on his toes.

“Damn!” Erik cursed, retreating his pained leg, extending his right fist to introduce it to Logan’s chest. Logan caught Erik’s fist, twisting it hard at the clockwise direction about Erik’s wrist, and Erik could feel his bones cracking at that one. But if it had hurt Erik, he did not show it on his face. He ignored the pain, and kicked at Logan’s knee. It toppled Logan of his balance for a brief moment, but that was what Erik needed. Wrenching his wrist away from Logan’s grip, he moved closer to Logan, exposing his left elbow to hit at Logan’s ribcage.

But the moment his elbow made contact with his opponent and hit a bulls eye, Logan’s arms caught Erik’s, and turned him around so that Erik’s back was facing the floor of the ring, slamming him down with his weight, making sure that his upper body was nailing Erik’s body. While Erik was writhing at the pain, Logan took this chance to make his next move. Getting up quickly, Logan looked at the body below him. Erik looked thin and sporting no visible muscles, but he was fired up with the thought of Charles, and this was enough to provide enough adrenaline to make Erik keep fighting.

“Charles is the prettiest man I have ever seen,” said Logan in what seemed like a provoking tone. Erik grunted and tried to stand up, but Logan kicked at Erik’s stomach, and he went down kneeling at the stage floor. “And you have no right to claim him as your own!” yelled Logan before falling down on the stage… with his elbow striking at Erik’s calf! The crowd around them clapped and yelled compliments, as Erik tried to not shed painful tears on the pain Logan had inflicted on him. Yet, the thought of losing Charles was going to hurt him more than a broken leg.

Erik managed to punch at the side of Logan’s face before his opponent could stand up fully, and it sent ringing vibrations through his skull. Erik had hit a critical spot! Feeling that he had at least got an advantage now, Erik continued his assault at Logan’s chest, striking at where his heart would be. Driven by anger, Erik kicked Logan at his stomach away from him. Before Logan could get his coordinates, Erik backed away for a few steps, and dashed forward, tackling the bulkier man down to the ground, his right fist digging into Logan’s abs.

The first blood was shed.

Upon seeing red, the crowd went wilder than before. So was Logan.

He waved his fists at Erik’s neck, showing no mercy. Erik tried to cough away the pain, but Logan made sure Erik never did that. He punched at his neck once again, before switching his punches onto the taller male’s jaw. Curling up his knee quickly to hit at Erik’s thigh, Logan pushed at Erik’s shoulders, making a gap between them, and Logan smashed at Erik’s forehead with his own. Now it was Erik’s turn to get dizzy.

“I’ll teach you the right way to mess with someone else’s head!” yelled Logan, grabbing Erik by his head, slamming it against the floor of the stage. Erik screamed in pain, and that just made Logan even wilder. His eyes, if possible, could be several shades of burning red. Erik moaned against the floor, feeling warm liquid trickled down between his eyes.

“How’s _that_ , Lehnsherr?” Logan asked, and panted heavily as he continued with his mocking. “That’s the force I’m going to use when I had Charles pinned below me! I’m going to fuck him so hard, he will be begging for more! And you can’t do anything against it!”

“You stop fucking mentioning Charles! He’s mine!” Erik roared, getting up from the floor in an instant, driven by nothing but rage, and punched at Logan right between his nose. Blood started flowing out from it as well.

“Nice, Erik! Show me your insanity!” urged Logan, leaving heavy kicks and punches on Erik’s chest and arms. “Show me the true power of your past!”

“You know nothing of my past!” howled Erik, tempting to drive his knee through Logan’s abs and his fist through his heart. Flashbacks of his gangster past flowed back into Erik, relishing him of the moments when he had led fights against other gangster groups. It had felt well, but something had kept him from fighting all these years.

Charles.

If only he could hear his voice now.

“Stop it, Erik!” Amongst the roaring, cheering and howling chaos of the crowd, Erik had picked up Charles’s voice. _Had God answered his prayers? Is he going to die?_ Erik could not bring himself to believe his ears.

_ Is that you, Charles?  _ Erik wondered, stopping completely in his tracks. Logan took no notice of Erik’s changes, and hit him hard on his head with a swing of his fist.

Erik fell unconscious, drifting off into limbo as blood and sweat tainted his body, his mind filled with Charles’s angelic voice before he whispered one silent prayer. __

_ Protect Charles from Logan, Big Man. I’m counting on you. _


	7. Chapter 7

The next thing Erik knew, he was in a hospital; he would have recognized the smell of medicine anywhere. Sunlight streaked into the room through the curtains, illuminating the hospital room around him. He was the only patient there. The memories of the past night rushed back into him before he could properly take in his surroundings. He was in a fight. He heard Charles’s voice. And then… He got punched by Logan.

Such a humiliating defeat.

He rose his hand in an attempt of a face palm, but immediately realized that a needle had pierced the top of his hand, deep in one of his veins. The needle felt weird, and he rolled his eyes as a substitution for the face palm.

How did he get here?

Erik’s question was answered with a rustle to his left. Swiftly turning his head around, he went face to face with a sleepy Charles Xavier. He was trying to sit up straight after hours of slumping down in the room’s single person couch, and Erik’s heart warmed at the sight of a tousled-haired, blanket-wrapped Charles.

“Huh…? Uhh….. Erik? You’re awake!” Charles’s eyes instantly widened at the sight of Erik, and the bedridden male had to look away from staring at the beautiful sight of his best friend. Charles ran over to Erik, giving him a slap on the face.

“That’s for fighting with Logan! Honestly, Erik! I told you not to fight unless necessary! Have you got any slightest idea about how I would feel if… if… I know you’re capable of defending yourself, Erik, but what if… what if… The thought of you, I cannot… I can’t…” Charles’s angry rant turned into shaken ramblings, Erik quickly extended out his arms – ignoring the protest of the needle in his skin – to gather his friend in a hug.

“I’m okay, Charles. I’m okay now, aren’t I?” shushed Erik, soothing the trembling human in his arms. He wanted to kiss Charles, tell him everything is going to be okay, to shower Charles with assurance and love, that he will forever be by his side, protecting him, his smile, everything. But deep down, he just could not do that.

Charles was everything but deeply in love with him, that Erik was sure.

“Promise?” Charles raised his head from Erik’s embrace, the glitter of tears in his eyes was unmistakable for Charles’s usual excited, shining stare. It did nothing to dampen Erik’s feelings.

He did not want to cage them – the feelings – anymore. The moment he had stepped up to challenge Logan, he had already made up his mind.

_ No more hiding, Erik. _

Before Charles knew it, Erik was already kissing away his tears. Erik felt soft and warm on the lips, slightly wrinkly from the lack of water, but Charles’s tears had served its purpose by wetting it.

Erik pulled back after a while, heat pumping onto his face, his heartbeat hammering on his ribs. He had never felt this much adrenaline in him, even when he was fighting with Logan. That was anger, but this… this was something entirely different. It almost felt like a moment of serenity. When Erik finally gathered enough courage to look down at Charles, the smaller male in his arms was flushing at the cheeks too, even redder than Erik himself!

“I… I’m sorry. I don’t mean to…” Erik started to explain; afraid that his move might severe the friendship between them, and the last thing he wanted was for Charles to leave his life.

“Shh. I love you too, Erik.” Charles whispered timidly, clumsily pressed his lips on Erik’s, tasting the bits of his own tears. It took Charles only a few seconds to pull away, his face, if possible, was on fire. His breathing came out in flurry exhales, eyes starting to blur from the steam radiating off his face.

Erik had not expected this kind of reaction. He thought Charles would leave him, or even hit and slap him (the latter already done), but not this.

Not a kiss on the lips.

That happened in his dreams, not in real life. Dreams. Is he dreaming?

Erik slapped himself, just to be sure of it.

Charles got startled by the slap. When he realized what Erik was trying to prove, a light chuckle came from his sinful lips. Erik tried hard to not stare at it.

“You’re not dreaming, Erik. I really love you,” Charles said.

“How do you know what I was thinking?” Erik asked.

“It’s obvious that you thought all of this was a dream because you’re slapping yourself after I kissed you. Besides, hurting themselves is what people do to know if they’re dreaming or not, isn’t it?” Charles winked at Erik, pressing two fingers on the side of his forehead. “Didn’t I tell you that I’m taking psychology when I’m going to college?”

Erik nodded. “So… Now what? I love you, and you love me too. Are we a thing now?”

“Erik! That’s not how you start a relationship!”

“I guess we are,” Erik grinned and landed a kiss on Charles’s lips, claiming him as his boyfriend.

** xXx **

Erik later knew from Charles that he was registered into Charles’s uncle’s hospital. He made a mental note to thank the kind man who refused to accept any hospitalization fees. Charles helped Erik to his feet, determined to escort Erik back home.

Along the way to Erik’s house…

“Erik, I didn’t know that you lived in such _royalty_ ,” Charles said, avoiding the intense stares of delinquents young and old, men and women, on him. Erik snorted, glared at them, and they shifted their gaze away from the duo, continue chatting, joking and smoking amongst themselves.

“I’m sorry, they’re just curious. I never brought a friend up to my house,” Erik stated.

“Boyfriend,” Charles corrected, moved up closer to Erik, intertwining his fingers with the taller male’s, grinning sheepishly.

“My parents had never come to this house; make yourself at home, okay?”

“But why?”

“They hated this side of town. My house over here, I fight for it. Literally.”

Charles glared at Erik at the mentioning of a fight, but Erik just shrugged his shoulders and grinned, showing his set of shark teeth.

“It’s okay; I’ve gained enough respect around here to not get into a fight anymore.”

Erik’s house was nothing Charles had imagined. He had thought of huge mansions in that unfitting place, or houses that looked like old castles, with wired fences and spiked metal gates. Instead of that, Erik’s house had a small garden at the front, with young trees standing on it, leaves trimmed to shape a perfect cone. The walls of his house is white, the same color as the lower ones which served as a barrier between the garden and the streets.

What shocked Charles was not how _normal_ Erik’s house was – that got him as well – but something else caught his attention.

On the supposedly white garden wall, there were words sprayed onto it! The words are a message, a challenge invitation, directed for Erik.

Charles gasped, eyes bulging at the jet black and platinum silver colored spray on the pearl white wall. Erik merely smirked at the message, and led Charles into his house, as if the words on the wall was entirely intentional.

** xXx **

Charles told Erik that he was able to find him in the fight club thanks to Thor. The blonde knew about the club, and gave the brunet some directions to it. Thor had suggested that he and Loki could go with Charles, but the skinnier male between the two had denied, insisting that this was not their problem.

_ Not your problem, Loki? You’re the one who bloody suggested me to join that competition, and look where it leads me!  _ Erik thought grumpily as he stared at the TV, which was broadcasting documentaries of lab rats. Charles snuggled up beside him, wrapping both of them with a blanket as he watched the show with great interest. Erik looked at Charles, a gentle expression on his face, and then he leaned down to kiss at the top of Charles’s head, closing the small gap between them. _But Charles is here with me because of the fight, so… Thanks but no thanks, Loki. I swear I will be you and Thor’s marriage counselor._

** xXx **

The next day of school, Logan had quit fighting for his school team, which was a huge discussion topic both in and out of the ring. They said Logan was defeated by one of the contenders outside the competition, and he was ashamed to come back to face him officially. Some said he got bored. The most bizarre one – but surprisingly most widely accepted one by the students so far – being Charles had managed to convert Logan into a peace monk like Erik.

But none of them knew the truth to the whole story. The ones who knew (Thor and Loki) chose not to spread.

The words on the wall read: _We will fight again. -Logan_


End file.
